Ursula von der Leyen approved by European Parliament for second term

Members of the European Parliament have approved current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a second five-year term after she spoke about the need for a European defence union.

Following a secret ballot, 401 votes were cast for von der Leyen, 284 votes were against and 15 abstained. Seven ballots were blank.

To elect the head of the EC, 361 or more votes were required from the 720-member parliament.

After approval by the European Parliament, the candidate for the President of the European Commission must be formally approved by the European Council.

Ursula von der Leyen has led the European Commission since 2019. She is the first woman to lead the European Commission. In 2022 and 2023, Forbes magazine named her “the most powerful woman in the world.”

In the European Parliament elections in June, she led the list of the centre-right European People’s Party, which received the largest number of votes.

Von der Leyen’s speech as a candidate focused mainly on defense issues.

“We have a duty to do everything necessary to protect our European citizens. It is Europe’s duty to protect Europe. That is why I believe that now is the time to build a real European defence union,” von der Leyen said in her candidate speech at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on Thursday.

“Let’s be clear: member states will remain responsible for their national security and their armies,” she continued. “And NATO will remain the pillar of our collective defense. But we all know that our defense spending is too low and ineffective.”

The EU must invest more in high-end defence capabilities, “invest more and invest together.”